If all goes smoothly, Durfee could have its next football coach in place by late next month.

The job is being posted online – including on the Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association website. From there, Principal Marshall said he and Victor Pereira, Director of Athletics, will handle the interviews in hopes of sending a recommendation or recommendations to Supt. of Schools Meg Mayo-Brown the week before spring vacation week.

Mayo-Brown has the final say.

“A couple interested people have already reached out to us,” Marshall said, adding he cannot disclose who they are.

Durfee football has not won a game since 2011 and is riding a 27-game losing streak. Lajhon Jones, coach for the last three years, resigned earlier this month, citing a desire to be able to watch his young son play football at LaSalle Academy in Providence.

Asked why Durfee football struggles so much, Marshall said there is no one, simple answer. He said he’d love to see a middle school football program with the three city schools playing each other and teams from other communities. But establishing such a program is no simple task, especially when money is tight. “Football is an incredibly expensive sport,” he said. “You might have to decide do I keep a math teacher or fund an eighth-grade football team. Of course, I’d keep the math teacher.”

A former longtime assistant coach at New Bedford High where he teaches social sciences, Salmon said he plans to apply. He has applied before. Salmon said he considers it extremely important for the program’s head football coach to be working in the building, so the Fall River resident would need a teaching job, with some security. “I’ve got a nice position in New Bedford,” he said.

Salmon said he thinks hiring a Fall River guy with a passion for Durfee football could help the program. He said being Durfee head football coach “is a big job, an important job.”

A vice-principal at Kuss Middle School , Brown, 31, said he, too, will pursue the job. "It's always been my goal to be head coach at Durfee High School," he said. "I've worked with all the kids. They want to win. They're hungry and I'm hungry."

Brown last fall was an assistant at Bishop Connolly. The year before, he was an assistant coach at Portsmouth High School.

The head coach at Bishop Connolly High School and a past applicant for the Durfee job, Kogler said he will not be applying.

“I’m happy in my current situation,” he said. “I have two young kids at home. I’m comfortable at this point.”

Page 2 of 2 - Attempts to reach Winarski were unsuccessful.

----- It’s always (yes, always) interesting to check out recently completed high school tournaments and see how some of the teams which vanquished our local teams ended up doing.

Cardinal Spellman boys’ basketball (scrapped to beat Westport in the Division 3 South boys’ hoop final) won the whole shebang. Spurred by their cool student fans, the Cardinals downed Watertown 51-44 in overtime in the state semis at the Garden and then beat Tyngsboro 61-51 at the state final.

St. Clement boys’ basketball (beat Bishop Connolly in state Division 4 semifinals) also rules in the Bay State. The Anchormen beat Quaboag 45-42 in the state final.

Hanover hockey (beat Bishop Stang in Division 3 South final). Hanover beat Wayland 3-0 in the state semifinals before losing to Shrewsbury 7-1 in the state final.

Needham boys’ basketball (beat Durfee in first round Division 1 South). Needham promptly lost to Newton North in the quarterfinals.

Dedham boys’ basketball (beat Case in double overtime in Division 3 South first round). Dedham was next drubbed 68-39 by Spellman in the quarters.

Needham girls’ basketball (beat Durfee in first round Division 1 South). Needham promptly lost to eventual South finalist Newton North 66-41 in the quarterfinals.

West Bridgewater girls’ basketball (beat Westport by seven in Division 4 first round). The Wildcats of WB went to the South final before losing to Greater New Bedford by one point in overtime.

Old friend Mike O’Brien took his Coyle & Cassidy girls’ basketball team to the Division 3 South final where it lost to Archbishop Williams.

And the Braintree High girls’ basketball team, whose senior center Molly Reagan is the daughter of the late Pat Reagan (Durfee baseball), won the state Division 1 championship.

----- Looking to the future, among the athletes to watch in the spring season is Case High’s 6-foot-6 righthanded pitcher Zach Correll. He is definitely on the pro scouts’ radar.

----- As time goes on, I come to like and appreciate Joe Frazier more and more and resent Muhammad Ali for the nasty, very public verbal abuse he fired at Smokin’ Joe.

----- Watching The Brady Bunch on DVD continues to be a big hit at chez Sullivan. Come to realize how volcanic Marcia was in that first season.